Internships 101: Gain the Experience You Need

You’re in college and ready to take on your future career, but there’s one problem: you don’t have any experience. So how do you gain this experience? By completing internships!

The Random House Dictionary defines the word internship as “any official or formal program to provide practical experience for beginners in an occupation or profession.

Monica Boyd, the Director of Student Professional Development, says internships can be pair or unpaid and can be geared toward gaining work experience, completing research, or purely experimental.

It is important for students to complete an internship because it gives the student real-world experience with a position of interest. The knowledge, skills, and abilities acquired through internships give the student the work experience to enhance their resume, making them a more competitive candidate for employment,” said Boyd.

Mary Khun is a junior Business Administration major with a concentration in Marketing. Khun is currently internship with the Susan G. Komen Northwest NC office as the marketing and event planning intern. Her responsibilities include developing market plans for Race for the Cure 5k and other events.

“I chose to intern at the Susan G. Komen Northwest NC office because I get to see how powerful women in the leadership role can be. Through this internship, I want to be able to develop the necessary skill set needed to work in marketing. I am an aspiring wedding planner, so I want to be able to apply my marketing concentration towards event planning. This was the perfect internship,” said Khun.

According to Boyd, all traditional students must complete at least one internship; however, many students choose to complete three or four. Internships can be found by attending career fairs, searching the internet, and networking. Student Professional Development also provides internship resources.